Sears Sells Pest-control Business

Terminix Purchase Will Cut 1,000 Jobs

Sears, Roebuck and Co. said Monday it would sell its Orlando-based pest-control business to Terminix -- a move that will eliminate 1,000 jobs.

Neither Sears Termite and Pest Control nor Terminix would say how many people in Orlando would be dismissed. The staff reductions will begin in October, once the deal closes.

Sears has 250,000 customers in 10 states, with the largest concentration in Florida, Georgia and Texas. Terminix, the nation's largest pest-control company, has 4 million customers in this country and internationally.

The purchase price was not disclosed.

Sears entered the pest-control business 4 1/2 years ago when it purchased All America Termite and Pest Control Inc., an Orlando company begun in 1981 by Chuck Steinmetz. At the time, Sears hoped to become a major player in the home-services market.

Those plans changed, said Peggy Palter, a spokeswoman in Sears' Hoffman Estates, Ill., headquarters. The company announced earlier this year it was reviewing options for the termite business in an effort to free up resources.

"It was a decision that we made to really focus more on our core retail businesses," Palter said. "Obviously, the termite/pest-control business was outside of the core retail."

In recent years, Sears has jettisoned other businesses it once owned, including HomeLife Furniture, Dean Witter Discover & Co. and Allstate Corp. The company this year lost $197 million in the second quarter, due largely to extraordinary charges.

Sears will continue to honor its pest-control contracts and will handle termite-damage claims until the sale's close, said Steve Bono, a spokesman for Terminix's parent company, ServiceMaster Co. of Downers Grove, Ill.

Sears customers will then be contacted by a Terminix representative, Bono said. Terminix uses a bait system to kill termites while Sears uses spray.

Terminix controls 20 percent of the U.S. market, followed by Orkin Pest Control, which has about 14 percent. Sears was ranked third with about 2 percent of the market, said Bruce Byots, vice president of investor relations for ServiceMaster Co.

The Sears purchase "is an opportunity to acquire an excellent customer base down in an area that, as far as termites and pests go, are in an excellent region of the country," Byots said.

ServiceMaster lost 5 cents to close at $12.40 Monday on the New York Stock Exchange. Sears lost 10 cents to close at $44.90.